Old/New Testament
1 These are the names of the sons of Israel who came into Egypt with Jacob, each with his household:
2 Reuben, Simeon, Levi, and Judah,
3 Issachar, Zebulun, and Benjamin,
4 Dan and Naphtali, Gad and Asher.
5 All the offspring of Jacob were seventy persons; Joseph was already in Egypt.
6 Then Joseph died, and all his brothers and all that generation.
7 But the descendants of Israel were fruitful and increased abundantly; they multiplied and grew exceedingly strong, and the land was full of them.
8 Now a new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.
9 He said to his people, Behold, the Israelites are too many and too mighty for us [and they [a]outnumber us both in people and in strength].
10 Come, let us deal shrewdly with them, lest they multiply more and, should war befall us, they join our enemies, fight against us, and escape out of the land.
11 So they set over [the Israelites] taskmasters to afflict and oppress them with [increased] burdens. And [the Israelites] built Pithom and Rameses as store cities for Pharaoh.
12 But the more [the Egyptians] oppressed them, the more they multiplied and expanded, so that [the Egyptians] were vexed and alarmed because of the Israelites.
13 And the Egyptians reduced the Israelites to severe slavery.
14 They made their lives bitter with hard service in mortar, brick, and all kinds of work in the field. All their service was with harshness and severity.
15 Then the king of Egypt said to the Hebrew midwives, of whom one was named Shiprah and the other Puah,
16 When you act as midwives to the Hebrew women and see them on the birthstool, if it is a son, you shall kill him; but if it is a daughter, she shall live.
17 But the midwives feared God and did not do as the king of Egypt commanded, but let the male babies live.
18 So the king of Egypt called for the midwives and said to them, Why have you done this thing and allowed the male children to live?
19 The midwives answered Pharaoh, Because the Hebrew women are not like the Egyptian women; they are vigorous and quickly delivered; their babies are born before the midwife comes to them.
20 So God dealt well with the midwives and the people multiplied and became very strong.
21 And because the midwives revered and feared God, He made them households [of their own].
22 Then Pharaoh charged all his people, saying, Every son born [to the Hebrews] you shall cast into the river [Nile], but every daughter you shall allow to live.
2 Now [Amram] a man of the house of Levi [the priestly tribe] went and took as his wife [Jochebed] a daughter of Levi.(A)
2 And the woman became pregnant and bore a son; and when she saw that he was [exceedingly] beautiful, she hid him three months.(B)
3 And when she could no longer hide him, she took for him an ark or basket made of bulrushes or papyrus [making it watertight by] daubing it with bitumen and pitch. Then she put the child in it and laid it among the rushes by the brink of the river [Nile].
4 And his sister [Miriam] stood some distance away to [b]learn what would be done to him.
5 Now the daughter of Pharaoh came down to bathe at the river, and her maidens walked along the bank; she saw the ark among the rushes and sent her maid to fetch it.
6 When she opened it, she saw the child; and behold, the baby cried. And she took pity on him and said, This is one of the Hebrews’ children!
7 Then his sister said to Pharaoh’s daughter, Shall I go and call a nurse of the Hebrew women to nurse the child for you?
8 Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Go. And the girl went and called the child’s mother.
9 Then Pharaoh’s daughter said to her, Take this child away and nurse it for me, and I will give you your wages. So the woman took the child and nursed it.
10 And the child grew, and she brought him to Pharaoh’s daughter and he became her son. And she called him Moses, for she said, Because I drew him out of the water.
11 One day, after Moses was grown, it happened that he went out to his brethren and looked at their burdens; and he saw an Egyptian beating a Hebrew, one of [Moses’] brethren.
12 He looked this way and that way, and when he saw no one, he killed the Egyptian and hid him in the sand.
13 He went out the second day and saw two Hebrew men quarreling and fighting; and he said to the unjust aggressor, Why are you striking your comrade?
14 And the man said, Who made you a prince and a judge over us? Do you intend to kill me as you killed the Egyptian? Then Moses was afraid and thought, Surely this thing is known.
15 When Pharaoh heard of it, he sought to slay Moses. But Moses fled from Pharaoh’s presence and [c]took refuge in the land of Midian, where he sat down by a well.
16 Now the priest of Midian had seven daughters, and they came and drew water and filled the troughs to water their father’s flock.
17 The shepherds came and drove them away; but Moses stood up and helped them and watered their flock.
18 And when they came to Reuel [Jethro] their father, he said, How is it that you have come so soon today?
19 They said, An Egyptian delivered us from the shepherds; also he drew water for us and watered the flock.
20 He said to his daughters, Where is he? Why have you left the man? Call him, that he may eat bread.
21 And Moses was content to dwell with the man; and he gave Moses Zipporah his daughter.
22 And she bore a son, and he called his name Gershom [expulsion, or a stranger there]; for he said, I have been a stranger and a sojourner in a foreign land.
23 However, after a long time [nearly forty years] the king of Egypt died; and the Israelites were sighing and groaning because of the bondage. They kept crying, and their cry because of slavery ascended to God.
24 And God heard their sighing and groaning and [earnestly] remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob.
25 God saw the Israelites and took knowledge of them and concerned Himself about them [knowing all, understanding, remembering all].(C)
3 Now Moses kept the flock of Jethro his father-in-law, the priest of Midian; and he led the flock to the back or west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb or Sinai, the mountain of God.
2 The [d]Angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush; and he looked, and behold, the bush burned with fire, yet was not consumed.
3 And Moses said, I will now turn aside and see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.
4 And when the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the midst of the bush and said, Moses, Moses! And he said, Here am I.
5 God said, Do not come near; put your shoes off your feet, for the place on which you stand is holy ground.
6 Also He said, I am the God of your father, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. And Moses hid his face, for he was afraid to look at God.
7 And the Lord said, I have surely seen the affliction of My people who are in Egypt, and have heard their cry because of their taskmasters and oppressors; for I know their sorrows and sufferings and trials.
8 And I have come down to deliver them out of the hand and power of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land to a land good and large, a land flowing with milk and honey [a land of plenty]—to the place of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite.
9 Now behold, the cry of the Israelites has come to Me, and I have also seen how the Egyptians oppress them.
10 Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh, that you may bring forth My people, the Israelites, out of Egypt.
11 And Moses said to God, [e]Who am I, that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the Israelites out of Egypt?
12 God said, I will surely be with you; and this shall be the sign to you that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain [Horeb, or Sinai].
13 And Moses said to God, Behold, when I come to the Israelites and say to them, The God of your fathers has sent me to you, and they say to me, What is His name? What shall I say to them?
14 And God said to Moses, I Am Who I Am and What I Am, and I Will Be What I Will Be; and He said, You shall say this to the Israelites: I Am has sent me to you!
15 God said also to Moses, This shall you say to the Israelites: The Lord, the God of your fathers, of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, has sent me to you! This is My [f]name forever, and by this name I am to be remembered to all generations.
16 Go, gather the elders of Israel together [the mature teachers and tribal leaders], and say to them, The Lord God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, appeared to me, saying, I have surely visited you and seen that which is done to you in Egypt;
17 And I have declared that I will bring you up out of the affliction of Egypt to the land of the Canaanite, the Hittite, the Amorite, the Perizzite, the Hivite, and the Jebusite, to a land flowing with milk and honey.
18 And [the elders] shall believe and obey your voice; and you shall go, you and the elders of Israel, to the king of Egypt and you shall say to him, The Lord, the God of the Hebrews, has met with us; and now let us go, we beseech you, three days’ journey into the wilderness, that we may sacrifice to the Lord our God.
19 And I know that the king of Egypt will not let you go [unless forced to do so], no, not by a mighty hand.
20 So I will stretch out My hand and smite Egypt with all My wonders which I will do in it; and after that he will let you go.
21 And I will give this people favor and respect in the sight of the Egyptians; and it shall be that when you go, you shall not go empty-handed.
22 But every woman shall [insistently] solicit of her neighbor and of her that may be residing at her house jewels and articles of silver and gold, and garments, which you shall put on your sons and daughters; and you shall strip the Egyptians [of belongings due to you].
14 At that time Herod the governor heard the reports about Jesus,
2 And he said to his attendants, This is John the Baptist; He has been raised from the dead, and that is why the powers [a]of performing miracles are at work in Him.
3 For Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison [to [b]stow him out of the way] on account and for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,
4 For John had said to him, It is not lawful or right for you to have her.(A)
5 Although he wished to have him put to death, he was afraid of the people, for they regarded John as a prophet.
6 But when Herod’s birthday came, the daughter of Herodias danced in the midst [before the company] and pleased and fascinated Herod,
7 And so he promised with an oath to give her whatever she might ask.
8 And she, being put forward and prompted by her mother, said, Give me the head of John the Baptist right here on a [c]platter.
9 And the king was distressed and sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests, he ordered it to be given her;
10 He sent and had John beheaded in the prison.
11 And his head was brought in on a [d]platter and given [e]to the little maid, and she brought it to her mother.
12 And John’s disciples came and took up the body and buried it. Then they went and told Jesus.
13 When Jesus heard it, He withdrew from there privately in a boat to a solitary place. But when the crowds heard of it, they followed Him [by land] on foot from the towns.
14 When He went ashore and saw a great throng of people, He had compassion (pity and deep sympathy) for them and cured their sick.
15 When evening came, the disciples came to Him and said, This is a remote and barren place, and the day is now over; send the throngs away into the villages to buy food for themselves.
16 Jesus said, They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat.
17 They said to Him, We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish.
18 He said, Bring them here to Me.
19 Then He ordered the crowds to recline on the grass; and He took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and blessed and broke the loaves and handed the pieces to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.
20 And they all ate and were satisfied. And they picked up twelve [[f]small hand] baskets full of the broken pieces left over.
21 And those who ate were about 5,000 men, not including women and children.
Copyright © 1954, 1958, 1962, 1964, 1965, 1987 by The Lockman Foundation